september 2004
ADDAMEER : Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association
Israeli Detention Facilities
There are about 7500 Palestinians being detained and imprisoned in various Israeli detention facilities. Over 3800 of the Palestinian prisoners are being held in Detention centers and Central prisons run by Israeli Prisons Service (IPS). The general open-ended hunger strike, that started on 15 August 2004, is limited so far to prisoners being held in these prisons and detention centers. Among these prisoners are the 106 Palestinian female prisoners (two infants are now with their mothers in detention) and the about 78 Palestinian minors 16 years old and under. It is in there case , where the worst violent reaction by prison administrations and guards are expected.
It should be noted that Palestinian prisoners, who are being held in Military Detention Camps (Prisons), still might decide to join the hunger strike at a later stage.
There are several types of detention facilities:
- Regular Civil Prisons (Central Prisons)
- Interrogation Centers
- Military Detention Centers (Provisional Detention Centers)
- Military Detention Camps
- Police Stations
By location, they are situated either within 1967 occupied territories or outside.
All Civil Prisons (sometimes they are called Central Prisons) are located outside 1967 occupied territories. Some of these hold only sentenced prisoners while others include both sentenced and those with pending trials (some times called Detention Centers). These are:
- Shatta and Gilboa (It is not clear for us yet if they are going to be two separate prisons or that Gilboa is just another section of Shatta. Gilboa was newly built adjacent to Shatta)
- Kfar Youna (Ashmoret)
- Rimonim
- HaSharon (Includes what is sometimes called Telmond, where there is also a section for minors and another section for female prisoners)
- Hadarim
- Ofek (Minors)
- Nitzan (Ramleh)
- Ayalon (Ramleh)
- Neve Tertza (Ramleh - Female)
- Hospital (Ramleh)
- Shikma (Asqalan)
- Eshel (Birsheva)
- Ohaei Keidar (Birsheva)
- Dekel (Birsheva)
- Nafha
- Damun Prison and Kishon Detention Center (mainly Palestinians 'staying in Israel illegally')
Interrogation Centers:
There are four official and recognized interrogation centers, though interrogation of Palestinian prisoners might be conducted at various other facilities. The four are located outside 1967 occupied territories. These are:
- Kishon (Al Jalameh), located within the Detention Center of the same name and the administration of the detention center is responsible over the place. Palestinians being interrogated there fall totally under the responsibility of the Shabak (General Security Service (GSS) - rename to General Security Agency GSA).
- Petah Tekva (Al Mlabbes), located within a Police Station and Police Headquarters of the same name. Israeli police are responsible over the place but Palestinians being interrogated fall under the responsibility of the Shabak.
- Shikma (Asqalan or Al Majdal), located within the Prison of the same name and prison administration is responsible over the facility. Palestinians being interrogated fall completely under the responsibility of Shabak.
- Russian Compound - Jerusalem (Al Maskubieh), located within the main Jerusalem Police station with the same name. Israeli police is responsible over the facility and the complex but Palestinians being interrogated fall under the responsibility and control of Shabak. It is expected that the whole complex there will be evacuated in the near future and returned to the Russian Church. A new complex had been built lately as a replacement that is located next Ma'aleh Adumim Settelment. The new sight is located within 1967 occupied territories but Israel is including it in Jerusalem Municipality as if it is outside the 1967 occupied territories (Annexed).
- Israel admitted last year of at least one secret interrogation facility (known as 1391 facility) that fall under the responsibility of Military Intelligence but the location of it is still unknown for certain. It is assumed that it is located within a military base outside 1967 occupied territories.
Military Detention Centers (Provisional)
These are located within the 1967 occupied territories and usually within military bases and/or settlements. They are run and controlled by the Israeli Army. Palestinians are supposed to be held in such centers for short periods of time (up to 8 days) but in practice some are being held for months in a row. There are sufficient evidences that interrogation is being conducted in these facilities as well though not for long periods. Shabak officers might be present there as well. These are:
- Salem (Shemron), located within the military base of the same name. It is a military complex next to the seam line north west of Jenin that hosts a military court and Jenin district civil administration (a section in Israeli Army).
- Qadomim (Kedomim or Ifraiem), located within a military base called Ifraiem within a settelemnt called Kedomim. It is in the area between Nablus and Tulkarem.
- Huwwara, located within a military base with the same name (I am not sure of the official Hebrew name of the base and the settlement adjacent to it). It is on the outskirts of Nablus next to a Palestinian village called Huwwara.
- Betounia (Benyamin), located within a military base called Ofer. Ofer (Betounia) military base holds a complex of military courts, a military detention camp, the military detention center, and offices for Shabak were short sessions of interrogation are conducted.
- Gush Etzion Complex, located within the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion that hosts a military base as well. Some of the Palestinians being held in the bloc are held in a Police Station there while others in Military Detention Center.
- Erez, located within the area of Erez crossing to Gaza. The area is a military zone that hosts the crossing, industrial zone, military courts, military base, and the detention center. Offices for Shabak are also present there. Though the whole Erez zone is within 1967 occupied territories, it has been a long time since Israel started to deal with the zone as being outside 1967 occupied territories (Annexed).
There are various other military detention centers that had been in the past used but not any more, though they are used still occasionally for very short periods. Dotan (Arabeh) within the military base Dotan south of Jenin, Beit El within the settlement of Beit El outside Ramallah, and Al Majnouneh within a military base near Hebron are some of such military detention centers.
Military Detention Camps
These are large detention prisons that are regulated, run and controlled by Israeli Army. They are composed tents with very limited and primitive facilities. There are three of them two are located outside 1967 occupied territories (Megiddo and Ketziot) and one within 1967 occupied territories (Ofer). Recently, Israel started to issue through ICRC permits for family visits in Ofer detention camp stating on it that it is located "within Israel" and there is a gate located just before the military base, where also the Annexation Wall passes. This is a direct evident that areas affected by the wall are being de facto annexed. Almost half of Palestinians held by Israel are being detained in these three military detention camps.
- Betounia (Ofer), located within a military base on the outskirts of Ramallah.
- Megiddo, located within a military base in the area of Megiddo or Al Lajoun on the main Jenin-Haifa road.
- Ansar or Negev (Ketziot), located five kilometers from boarders with Egypt in the Negev Desert almost half the way between Gaza and Eilat.
As it has been mentioned, there are various police stations, detention facilities that Palestinians might be held in within 1967 occupied territories or outside. Ma'aleh Adumim, Ariel and Beit El police stations that are located within settlements are only some of these. Abu Kbeir police station in Tel Aviv or Akka police station are others. Some old prisons like Damoun near Haifa or police stations in Occupied Golan Heights or near boarders with Lebanon are others that are used occasionally. It was mentioned that there are some secret interrogation facilities that Israel does not admit of having or running but in October last year they admitted of one that now holds the name 1391 military detention/interrogation facility.
ADDAMEER Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association
Postal Address: PO Box: 17338, Jerusalem.
Tel: +972-2-2960446 Fax: +972-2-2960447
Office Address: 7th Floor, Al Esra' Bldg., Al Irsal St.
Ramallah, West Bank
eMail: addameer@p-ol.com
URL: http://www.addameer.org/
SummAry of Israeli Public Defender's Office Report on conditions of detention
Following is a summary of a report from an Israeli public defenders office published in May 2004. The report addressed the conditions of detention and incarceration in Israeli police stations and facilities of the Israeli Prison Authority. The report was prepared after the public defenders office undertook 15 visits to detention centers and three visits to prisons in 2003. It covers the conditions of incarceration of both criminal and political prisoners.
Comments from Addameer are included as notes.
The general conditions in these facilities as seen during the majority of the visits were very poor. These conditions represent a clear violation of both the requirements of the law and Israeli court decisions regarding living conditions. The Israeli High Court of Justice has given the concerned parties until 1 June 2004 to apply the minimal standards such as providing a bed for each detainee.
THE DETENTION CENTERS
1. Prisoners sleeping on the ground
Detainees were sleeping on the floor without a bed in 9 of the 15 detention centers visited by the committee of the public defenders office. For example, during the first visit to the Russian Compound, 35 detainees were sleeping on the floor and 18 detainees continued to sleep on the floor during the second visit.
Note:
All Palestinian detainees sleep on the floor in all military detention centers and interrogation centers.
[end note]
2. Size of the rooms and the living conditions in them
More than half the detention centers are over crowded: 20 detainees in the Russian Compound are held in a room with only 12 beds.
Note:
According to a sworn affidavit given to Addameer on 25 April 2004 regarding the conditions at Azion Detention Center:
"The cell is designed for 10 persons and we were 12 detainees. The room measures 4 x 4 meters, there are 10 mattresses in the room - some are in very bad condition, they're ripped and smell bad. Some are covered and others aren't. One mattress is moldy and is dirt black. Each detainee has one blanket. The walls are smooth and painted but the ceiling is covered with mould, there is only one light from a window measuring 1.50 or 1.10 square meters. It has metal bars and glass wiring, the ventilation is insufficient. We go out for a walk once a day for an hour. In the morning, we only go out for 10 minutes. We can only use the bathroom three times a day; sometimes the soldiers won't let us out more than three times so we have to urinate in a bottle in the room.
The average size of rooms in most prisons is 2 meters, although it is sometimes as large as 2.5 or 3 meters. The rooms in Askelan Detention Center are 8 x 6 meters and 8 persons are held there, some large rooms hold up to 20 detainees."
[end note]
The space allocated for each detainee is considered much less than that required in the internal regulations for detention centers. In Ramle Detention Center, the allocated space per detainee is 1 meter, and each detainee in Lod Detention Center is allocated 1.2 meters.
3. The lack of separation between the shower and the toilet
There is no separation between the shower and the toilet in 11 of the 15 detention centers that were visited. The shower drain is the same as the toilet drain, which causes bad smells that are difficult to get rid of. This is harmful to the detainees health who complained to the members of the committee of the public defenders office of the existence of insects and mice in the rooms and courtyards. The delegates saw these insects themselves when they visited the Jalame Detention Center. The walls are filthy and unpainted. The ceiling is black and damp. The floor is filthy and full of dirt in Maabar Nitsan, although the rooms were in better condition during the second visit. This is also the situation in central prisons such as Askelan where "the toilet and shower are in the same 1 x 2 meter room."
4. Unacceptable ventilation
The committee found that the ventilation was unacceptable in 10 of the 15 centers visited. The smell was unbearable inside the room. In the Lod Police Station there are no windows at all, there is only one air vent that is out of order.
5. The deprivation of the right to a daily break in an open space
The law stipulates that no person should be detained for more than seven days in a center where there is no possibility of executing his/her right to a daily break. Therefore the Israeli Prison Authority must transfer him/her to another facility where s/he can execute his/her right to a daily break. The detainees are deprived of this right in 8 of the 15 centers visited. During most visits, there were detainees who had been deprived of their right to a daily break for period ranging between seven days to two months. There are no special courtyards for the walks in the Lod and Dimona Detention Centers.
Note:
The daily break was reduced from 4 hours to 2 hours, one in the morning and one in the evening, in all the central prisons. The exercise hour has been banned in prisons since July 2003. All the sports material was removed from the metal-roofed courtyards, which measure 15-25 by 20 meters. It is forbidden to return to the room immediately after the daily break. A water fridge was installed in the courtyard at Askelan. Before 2003 there was table tennis, basket ball and volley ball equipment in the yard, but now the detainees run during the daily break. Each section goes out on the daily break alone. All sections have between 70-80 detainees, and there are 120 detainees in certain prisons. Visits between the sections are forbidden despite the fact that they are only 4-5 meters from each other. The detainees at Askelan don't know anything about the detainees in the other sections. Not all the detainees pray together during the Friday prayer which is permitted in place of the daily break in Hadoriym
[end note]
6. Weak lighting in the rooms
No sunlight enters the rooms in the Lod Detention Center. The light is prevented from entering the rooms in the Russian Compound, where the rooms are completely covered.
7. Use of the telephone and/or receiving visits is not allowed
Detainees held until the end of the proceedings have the right to make one phone call a day. Nevertheless, the possibility of making a phone call from the pay phone at the Haifa Police Station or port police is extremely limited. Detainees are often punished by being denied family visits. The director of the Emakim Detention Center, allowed detainees to receive visits, but the two visiting rooms are very small. The detainee is separated from his visitors by a wire mesh and a window. The distance between the detainee and his family or visitors is 120 centimeters. The conversation is carried out using internal phones. The visibility and possibility of conversation are limited.
Note:
See separate Addameer statements on lawyers and family visits.
[end note]
8. The Clinic and the right to treatment
There have been problems with detainees receiving treatment in 3 of 15 centers visited. There are no adequate health and/or psychological services. The children detainees in the Ansar 3 (Ketziot) complained of the lack of specialized medical services, and those who had a cold had to wait for four days to see the nurse.
9. The delay in transferring detainees through the Nitsan entrance
The process of transferring detainees in order to attend court hearings is difficult and problematic. The committee recalled the case of a detainee from Hadoriym who was transferred to Nitsan on Thursday because his hearing was on Sunday in Petah Tikva, which is 40 minutes away from Hadoriym. He spent the night at the Nitsan entrance in very poor conditions. The judge ordered after ruling on the detainee's petition that he be transferred immediately from Hadoriym to Petah Tikva to attend his hearing.
Note:
Palestinian political prisoners complain of the frequent, difficult and humiliating conditions of their transfer, whether it is from one prison to another, or in order to attend their trials. This creates a feeling of instability because most of the security detainees currently in prison are detained but have not yet been convicted. For example, the transfer of a detainee from Nafha to attend his trial in Salem can take up to a week, since the prisoner is transferred from Nafha to Ramle then to Jalama. After that he attends his trial after having spent a night in each center. After the trial, the detainee has to spend a night in Jalame, then Ramle until he reaches Nafha. One detainee, Walid Habbas, is transferred nearly every 20 days from one prison to another. In the past two months he was transferred to four prisons. Nearly 20-30 detainees are transferred weekly from Askelan.
[end note]
10. The delay in transferring prisoners to the prison authority
The delay in transferring detainees who have been charged or sentenced to the facilities of the prison authorities is a violation of their rights. It also increases the crowding of detainees in detention centers, obstructs the execution of the law, and limits the detainees' rights inside the facilities of the prison authority. The delegates of the committee found that of the 199 detainees in Russian Compound, 23 had been sentenced and should have been transferred to a prison facility. During another visit there were 176 detainees, 38 of which were sentenced and should have been transferred to the facilities of the prison authorities.
THE CENTRAL PRISONS
The committee visited three prisons: Shatta, Tesalmon and Harmon. The public defenders office stated Shatta is extremely crowded, and the space allocated for each detainee is substantially less than the space ordered by internal regulations.
Solitary confinement./ isolation rooms
Committee delegates mentioned the case of two prisoners who were punished by being isolated for a week in the Shatta Prison. They spent the first 24 hours in a room without a mattress or a bed. Sixty-two (62) criminal prisoners and 11 political prisoners were sleeping on the floor on the day the committee visited Shatta. The committee described the conditions in the rooms as difficult and incompatible with the minimum standards in the regulations, especially regarding health and sanitation. The walls are rotten, the paint is peeling off because of the dampness in the filthy rooms, and the ventilation is bad in several rooms filled sewer smells. These conditions do not include the new political prisoner section.
Political prisoners are held in isolation in Section 8 of Beer al-Sabe and in three sections of Hadarim. Prisoners are deprived of their right to an education in the isolation section in Hadarim. Prisoners are prevented from continuing thier education if they have "security problems" or if they contact a university themselves. Prisoners are often punished by being deprived from continuing their education for a period lasting up to a year.
The religious rights
The religious needs of all the prisoners are not met. Although there is a rabbi and a place for prayer for Jewish detainees, there is no religious representative for Muslim or Christian detainees, despite the fact that the majority of prisoners are Muslim.
Violence at the hands of the prison guards
The public defenders office delegates referred to the extreme violence by the prison guards as a "new phenomenon". There have been many complaints from prisoners about untreated or severe violence by the guards. Committee members heard many claims regarding the use of collective punishment against the political prisoners by the guards. They complained about mass searches of their rooms, and punishments accompanied by severe, continuous, and organized violence.
There have been complaints from prisoners who have been asked to get undressed in front of their fellow prisoners and the police, often accompanied by personal punishment, physical violence and beating all over the body. Committee members questioned the prison doctor about these incidents and requested photos to document the injuries. The doctor and the prison officer refused to let the committee look at the pictures in the prisoners' medical files - a response which seemed incomprehensible to the members of the committee.
The committee stated that this information should be handled with caution, but one must not turn a blind eye to the number and the repeated complaints because of the fear of the administration's lack of concern regarding these complaints.
Finally, prison conditions in Israel are difficult, violate the prisoners' health and dignity, and are contrary to the laws and regulations regarding the conditions of detention.
Note:
Special police forces break into the prisoners' rooms at night, armed with guns and batons, and fire bullets that resemble rubber bullets that don't pierce the body but leaves bruises and red marks that convince the prisoner he has been injured. They force the prisoners to lie down on the floor, tie their hands, and take them out of their rooms during the search. Last Tuesday, two rooms were broken into and searched at Askelan from 5 am to 11 am. A week ago, the B units broke into rooms at Nafha.
The naked body search is used in several instances (especially in Shatta, where prisoners are forced to take their underwear off too):
1. When the prisoner is transferred to and from Shatta Prison.
2. When he goes out to meet his lawyer.
3. When he goes out to meet his family.
4. When he is transferred to attend his trial or transferred from Shatta to another prison.
5. When he asks to go to the clinic.
In Hadoriym, the prisoner is searched only when he is transferred to and from Hadoriym to attend trials or to be transferred to another prison where he is made to stand naked in front of the police and the other prisoners.
[end note]
ADDAMEER Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association
Postal Address: PO Box: 17338, Jerusalem.
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